James Pawelski Takes Positive Psychology Around the World

James Pawelski, Ph.D., Director of Education and Senior Scholar at the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, will be giving a free public lecture on “Positive Humanities: A Crucial Foundation for Positive Education.” The event is scheduled for Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 6:00 PM at the Prince Philip Theatre, ABP Building, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Campus (Building 133, map ref: F-18.)

In this lecture, Professor Pawelski will argue that positive education, an approach emphasizing both the importance of well-being for academic success and the importance of well-being in its own right as a proper goal of education, is missing a crucial foundational element: the development of positive theoretical perspectives in each of the academic disciplines on which a positive curriculum is based.

Dr. Pawelski will also be speaking at the “In the Footsteps of William James” symposium organized by the William James Society in Cooperation with the Chocorua Community Association and the Houghton Library at Harvard College. This event will be held from August 13-16; Dr. Pawelski will be presenting on Saturday, August 14 at 10:00 AM on “Beyond Healthy-Mindedness: William James, Positive Psychology and the Science of Well-Being.”

He will also be speaking at the 1st International Portuguese Congress on Positive Psychology, to be held in Lisbon from September 29-30, 2010. The topic of that talk will be:  "Positive Cultures: A Fundamental Step toward Positive Nations." 

He recently gave a talk on "Positive Humanities: Advances in Positive Education" at Geelong Grammar School (Geelong, Australia) on Monday, July 26, and led a plenary session at a conference on "Faith and Positive Psychology" on July 27 at the same location. 

In addition to his position at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Pawelski is the author of The Dynamic Individualism of William James and has written articles on the theoretical underpinnings of positive psychology. He is the founding Executive Director of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).

The Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program is overseen by the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and by the University's College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS). The program draws on faculty within the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences as well as on other preeminent local and international leaders in the field.